Pro Prospects Supplemental Preview – Free Issue for Full Subscribers

Currently five players have declared for the draft class including cornerbacks, Adonis Alexander of Virginia Tech and Sam Beal of Western Michigan, LB Bright Ugwoebuh of Oregon St., safety Brandon Bryant of Mississippi St and RB Marty Carter of Grand Valley St. Alexander held a pro day on June 20th, while Beal worked out on June 28th and Bryant the following day, June 29th. NFL supplemental drafts often pass without any players being chosen, but Beal, Alexander and Bryant figure to be attractive options for NFL clubs with needs in the secondary.

Sam Beal is our highest rated prospect in this class and a player who could be selected with a second day selection either a 2nd or 3rd round draft choice. He had a good pro day workout. If a player is selected in the supplemental draft, the team must forfeit a draft pick of the same round the player was picked in the NFL Draft 2019. Since 2012, only two players have been picked in the supplemental draft. The Browns took receiver Josh Gordon in 2012 in the 2nd round while the Rams took Isaiah Battle in 2015 in the fifth round. Only 43 players in total have been taken in the supplemental draft since its inception in 1977.

Prospects for NFL Supplemental Draft 2018

The NFL will conduct the Supplemental Draft 2018 on Wednesday, July 11th for players who rescind their remaining college eligibility. This draft has been a short process annually that considers special situations for players that are at least three years removed from high school. All 32 teams will participate in the weighted process that is divided into three tiers with seven prospects entered for this year’s selection draft. Teams with six wins or less from last season will make up the first group, followed by a second group of non-playoff teams and finally a third group of the twelve playoff teams. Each team submits the name of the players via email that they want to draft with the round they would like to select them. The club with the highest selection will be awarded the player. In the case of two teams drafting the same player in a round, the club with the worse record last season will win the prospect. Players not selected in this draft class will then become free agents eligible to sign with any team.

Any team that uses a selection in the Supplemental Draft will forfeit their choice in the corresponding round of the NFL Draft 2019. The new draft prospects will be considered part of the rookie salary pool along with the players from the NFL Draft 2018 and they must fit under the current contract structure and overall salary cap. There was no player chosen again last July. The Rams used their 5th round pick on OT Isaiah Battle in the 2015 NFL

Supplemental Draft, the last player chosen in this process. No players were drafted the previous past two summers. In 2013, the Browns used their 2nd round pick on wideout Josh Gordon, the only selection chosen in the process. He was a Pro Bowl receiver who set new NFL records a few years ago. But he has also been suspended annually for failing drug and alcohol tests and is currently coming off a suspended period. Browns did not bring back for 2017 season, but has reinstated him this spring and he has been in mini-camp this spring and will attend training camp this August.

Most prospects in a Supplemental class provide little initial impact because of the late signing that caused them to miss all of the OTAs and mini-camp practices. The NFL office has considered terminating this draft process after only minimal interest by clubs. Bids are weighted according to how a team performed the previous season. There are three groups of bid weights, with record determining ranking within each. The first group consists of teams that had six or fewer wins the previous season. The second group is made up of non-playoff teams that had more than six wins. The third group is made up of the 12 playoff teams from the previous year.

Prospects for NFL Supplemental Draft 2018

These players are eligible for the NFL Supplemental Draft after not declaring for entry in the NFL Draft 2018. The NFL has confirmed that these five players will be available in today’s summer NFL Supplemental Draft 2018.

Cornerback Sam Beal #1 Western Michigan 6-1 180 – Sp. 4.50 Rating 70
Big agile savvy corner started his final two seasons, earning MAC honors in 2017. Slender athlete with the prototypical skills which translates well to the corner position. Quick feet with fine short area suddenness and good long speed. Fine natural coverage ability with the athleticism to ultimately compete for a corner role in the NFL. Slight frame and lack of ideal physicality are legitimate concerns. Aided by quick feet, athletic instincts and the ball-skills to mirror receivers and grade out highly on a game to game basis. Limited experience vs NFL caliber receivers, though shows natural playmaking skills and made fast progress with experience anticipating routes and making plays on the ball. Can mirror tightly in man coverage underneath. Shows fine patience and confidence and keeps balanced and under control in coverage. He was rarely beaten deep with good speed and leaping skills to win in matchups. Displays nifty footwork and above-average twitch to plant and drive out of his backpedal. Inconsistent at reading the QB to anticipate when to jump routes. Displays good recovery speed when he reads routes properly. He can bite on play-action and fooled by double moves. Instincts are improving, though faced a simple level of play. Inconsistent tackling whether at the line or in the open field. Lacks top makeup speed and can be slow to turn and find the ball. Needs improvement on tracking and adjusting to deep passes. Overall, he is a very alert, confident and instinctive corner who is usually sound at jumping routes. Good press coverage ability to gain an early advantage. As a junior in 2017, he started 11 games and made 26 tackles with 3 TFL, 10 PBU and 2 picks for 2nd team MAC honors. As a sophomore, he started 13 games with 55 tackles with 8 PBU, and no picks. At his pro day at WMU, he came in at 6’1” and 178 lbs. with 32+” arms. He had a 4.47 time. He did a 37” VJ and a 10’6” BJ. Added a 4.09 in the shuttle with a 7.11 three-cone. Definite upside potential with work on his basics. Currently, he lacks the functional strength to test NFL caliber receivers. Shows a good closing burst that he uses well and should win a roster spot as a #4 or #5 in camp. Top 75 prospect after his strong final two seasons. Quality prospect probably fits in the 2nd day. Displayed quality starting talent. With a late start in rookie season he will most likely initially be only a backup corner with the skill set to continue to improve. With experience he will press for nickel corner role and eventually start once he settles into a system. Needs to be more physical to make it at the next level and earn playing time. Fine addition especially if he falls into middle rounds.